


Let Me Warm You

by WalkingWithWildlings



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Beyond the Wall - Freeform, Brienne is the Best, Brienne is tough, Brienne needs a hug, Canon-Typical Violence, Crying, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Even tough people need hugs, F/M, He just wants him some big ol Brienne, Hurt Brienne, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Tormund is eager to give that hug, Tormund is very forward, Touch-Starved, Wildlings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WalkingWithWildlings/pseuds/WalkingWithWildlings
Summary: Brienne will carry out the oath she swore to Catelyn to her dying day. Even if that means she ends up too far away from home, on the wrong side of the wall, with the attention of a very eager wildling.Also, fuck bears.





	Let Me Warm You

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is actually my first fanfiction (which is pretty obvious if you read it lmao)  
> honestly the only reason im writing this is because no one else has and im tired of waiting

Brienne was an idiot. An honourable woman, but an idiot all the same. After failing to return not one, but two of the Stark children, her hope for upholding the oath she had made too long ago was dwindling like a late night flame; fuelled only by the whispers of Catelyn stark, rushing past her ears whenever she dared to doubt herself.

She had heard things, tales of a crippled boy venturing past the realms of the wall with a half giant and wildling in tow, which matched the description of little Bran Stark all to aptly. Sure, it was more than likely that his frail form had perished months before, but there was a chance. A small, beautiful chance that somewhere, somehow he was out there. All she would have to do was treck across a vast and unfamiliar land, filled with angry wildlings, not to mention she had no indication of where she was or should be going. Simple, right?

Brienne chased the last remaining strands of doubt from her mind, instead focusing on the soft crunch of hooves on freshly fallen snow as she rode further and further away from the wall, any sense of security she had left disappearing, as if it were never there in the first place. It seemed so small from where she was, just a glorified chunk of ice sticking out the ground, melting into the horizon as she pursued her goal. In which direction said goal was, she had not the slightest clue. This normally wouldn't have troubled her as much as it did now, but as her icy blue eyes swept across the equally icy environment, she felt a shiver down her spine, as if the cold was penetrating through every pore in her body, lapping away at the warmth that fuelled her. Digging her heels into the horse beneath her, Brienne urged the beast to go faster, as if somehow speeding up would chase away the cold that lingered on her freckled skin.

Time travelled both quickly and slowly past the wall, and soon the sky began to darken rapidly, descending over her like a thick blanket, smothering the light until pin prick stars appeared in their place. Grudgingly, Brienne slowed her horse to a soft canter, unwilling to sacrifice her safety for speed, no matter how eager she was to find something other than vast planes of snow. She would have to find somewhere to stay for the night soon enough. Her eyes were beginning to sting, and combining that with the fact that she couldn't see more than ten feet in front of her did not bode well for her health in the long run. Squinting her eyes at the darkness around her, the tall lady made out what seemed to be some sort of snow hill ahead. Upon further inspections, it seemed to be a cave, large enough to fit her and her horse with plenty of room to spare. Exhaling in relief, she pulled her horse to a gentle stop, causing it to whinny quietly, scraping its hooves into the untouched snow beneath them. Brienne watched her breath fog up and spiral to the twinkling sky above her, before shaking herself out of her stupor and dismounting from her horse, tying it up to a brittle looking tree that wrapped around the cave. Hoping it was enough to secure her horse for the night, she removed a sack from its side and ducked into the mouth of the cave.

It was even darker inside. Anonymous items crunched beneath her feet as she moved in deeper, using her calloused hands to determine where the cave ended.One she was satisfied, she dropped her sack to the ground, dropping herself down with it and grunting softly. It had not gotten any warmer, and once again Brienne questioned the sanity of this foolish quest. Hoping that quelling her hunger would aid her with the cold, she reached into her sack, feeling around with numb fingers for the dried meat Podrick had hastily packed before she left. Podrick. Brienne would never tell him this in person, but she missed the damn fool. It had taken her _three_ bloody days to convince the boy not to come along with her, and even then she was half convinced he would sneak after her anyway. Finally, she found the dried food, pushing away her thoughts and unwrapping the cloth. Biting into the meat, she groaned as the rich, salty flavour invaded her senses, although still keeping in mind the fact that she had to ration her food carefully. When she had had her fill, she shoved it unceremoniously back into the sack, resting her head onto it and quickly falling into an uncomfortable sleep, filled with shadow men and broken promises.

/////

Brienne awoke from her sleep, neck and back aching from her makeshift bed. Although light did shine timidly through the cave entrance, that was not what woke her. Somewhere near to the entrance of the cave she could hear heavy footsteps, each following thump growing louder. Before she could even put a hand on her sword, a guttural roar echoed through the cave, followed by an ear-piercing screech from her horse, sounding as if it came from the very depths of hell. The gut-churning noise of ripping flesh assaulted her ears, and from her slight view of the cave entrance Brienne could see blood spraying, the royal red contrasting greatly with the pure white snow beneath it. This one sided battle went on for another minute, until her horse seemed to utter its last cry, as the sound of thrashing hooves ebbed away, taken over by a slow, ominous dragging sound.

Before Brienne could realise what was happening, a towering white mass of fur began to edge itself into the cave, back facing her.

A bear. _Bloody brilliant_. As if she hadn't already had enough of them in her lifetime. By now she had already unsheathed her sword (at least it was a real one this time round) and was beginning to raise from her awkward position into a slow crouch. Memories of being stuck in that god-forsaken bear-pit swam up the the surface of her mind, and she longed for Jamie and his rugged charm to be at her side once more. In another world, another universe perhaps, they could have been soulmates. Now, however, was not the time to be contemplating how utterly alone she was, as the blood-stained bear was getting far too close for comfort. Brienne would have to act now, or she would lose the only advantage she had; the element of surprise.

With a roar not unsimilar to the one the bear itself had been making, she launched herself upwards, lunging at the bear with oathkeeper clasped in a crushing grip. With all her force, she plunged the sword into the beasts hind leg, awakening an infuriated roar from her target. However, before she could steady herself enough to draw the sword from the lumbering creature, it swung round to meet her, swinging at her torso with a paw that was easily larger than her head. The mammoth limb hit its target head on, and Brienne was sent flying into the cave wall, her head smacking violently into it. Stars danced across her vision as she stumbled back up, her hands pawing at her belt for her second, slightly smaller sword. She hoped to see the end of this bear, if only to use this story to tell Jamie _exactly_ why knights carried two swords.

The bear, it seemed, didn't have the patience to wait for her to gather her senses - instead drawing back its muscled shoulders, preparing to charge. Ignoring the blood that sluggishly trickled towards her eye, she readied herself for the next attack, dancing out of the way and slashing at its neck as it thundered towards her, ankle twisting painfully as she did so. The beast crashed into the cave wall, bringing down a small amount of debris ontop of borh of them. Attempting to use her ankle, she held in an animalistic scream as wildfire seemed to erupt in her ankle, licking at her leg. She wouldn't be able to last much longer she thought, as she planted herself as firmly as possible into the cave floor. The bear span round once more ,noticeably slower this time, and like the last time began to bound towards her. As it reached close enough for her to gag at its putrid breath, she did the only thing she could think of, which was to shove her sword down its gaping mouth. This seemed to stop the beast in its tracks, however, unfortunately for her, her hand was also connected to the sword down its throat. As the monster crashed down, its jaws snapped shut, and this time she couldn't hold in her screams as she felt jagged teeth rip into her arm, her precious blood spilling onto her, the armour she wore being no use against the pure force of the bears vice like grip.

As darkness began to fuzz her vision, she found herself wishing she was back in that bear pit.

**Author's Note:**

> hello again! if you liked this, please leave some kudos and a comment! it means a lot to me :)


End file.
